UMass is required to track information about students when they engage in activities related to their education here while they are off-campus, such as experiential learning opportunities, including internships, co-ops, practicums, and externships.

Submitting an Experiential Learning Request 

If you are looking to add experiential learning to your portfolio, follow the below steps:

1. Log in to your student account on SPIRE. 
2. Click on the Academics Tile.
3. Under the Forms and Academic Requests tab, choose Experiential Learning Request. 
4. Here, click the Create a New Request button. 
5. Fill out all the information. Items marked with an asterisk are mandatory fields.
   • Select the respective department from the Instructor Department dropdown to then choose your desired instructor from the Instructor dropdown.
   • The start and end dates are mandatory but a rough estimate is okay since they can be edited later.
   • Click the next to fields to view more information on them.
   • Enter your home address in the Student Living Address section, and the organization's address in the Work Address section.
   • If you wish to attach any relevant documents, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Attach Document button and choose a file from your device. 

 

Note that at any point in time, you can save your progress by clicking the Save button at the bottom of the page. This will save the information you have filled out so far and you can pick up on completing the form again at another time.  

 

If you wish to proceed with your request, click the Submit Request button. Read the terms and conditions, and click the acknowledgement checkbox at the bottom of the page and click I Accept. This will send a request to the selected instructor/sponsor for processing and approval.  

 

Note that once you submit the form, you will receive a confirmation email along with a copy of the acknowledgment form you signed.

 

 

Editing a Saved Request 

To edit a saved request:

1. Navigate to the Experiential Learning Request tab on SPIRE under Academics > Forms and Academic Request. 
2. Here, you will see a list of all your previously saved requests. Click on what you would like to edit, and the respective page will open to edit any fields.  

 

Cancelling a Saved Request 

At any point, you can cancel any saved requests. Note that you cannot cancel a submitted request. To cancel a request:

1. Navigate to the Experiential Learning Request tab on SPIRE under Academics > Forms and Academic Request. 
2. Here, you will see a list of all your previous requests. 
3. Click on the request you would like to cancel, and the respective page will open. 
4. Click the Cancel Request button at the bottom of the page.